Method of making leather substitutes



Jully 24, E934 J. G. GRQWER 39979529 METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER SUBSTITUTES Original Filed May 17, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l ooooeoeo oooqr o oooo l9 Jmfly 24, 19341 J. G. GROWER METHOD OF MAKING LEATHER SUBSTITUTES Original Filed May 17, 1933 2 Sheets-Shegt 2 Patented Jul 24, 1934 r METHOD OF MAKING SUBSTITUTES James G. Grower, Watertown,

Cranston, B. L, a corporation of Respro Inc., Rhode Island Mm, assignor Original application May-17, 1933, Serial No.- 671,452. Divided and this application December 8, 1933, Serial No. 701,462

10 Claims. (01. 91-68) The subject matter ofthis case has been divided from my original application for patent Serial No. 671,452 filed May 17th, 1933.

The present invention relates to a method of 5 making leather substitutes and it has for its object the commercial production of a leather substitute web of considerable length, fair breadth and little thickness, one side ofwhich at least will have the appearance of leather and lo which, among other things, shall be particularly adapted for use as a leather substitute in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

Goods of the class to which my invention relates have heretofore been produced by the employment oi a base web of villous sheet material such, for example, as a nappedv textile fabric. This villous base material, wound upon a core into the form of a roll, was placed in a machine similar to a doubling or facing machine having 26 two pressure rolls same speed.

As the villcus base material was unwound from this roll under tension andpassed between said rolls it was saturated with an adhesive 35 agent which was pressed into the base material by the rolls while maintained in a more or less viscous condition by a solvent forming part thereof.

After leaving the presser rolls the coated and 8 impregnated or saturated web was subjected to drying treatment by which the solvent was removed from the structure.

Thereafter the dried and impregnated or eat-- mated web was again passed between a pair of down the adhesive-filmed fibers of. the nap to form a matted sumace upon the impregnated inner structure of the web, and was necessary to regulate the amount of tension or pressure in, order to accomplish this purpose. This application of pressure while under tension served also to obscure the appearance of the weave of the base material when a woven fabric was used for the latter.

During the first saturating or impregnating step the nap fibers were pressed against the body or" the fabric but since they adhered to the sticky pressure-applying surfacathe fibers were pulled out from the body of the fabric as the latter left the first pair of presser rolls thus preventing the formation of a solid homogeneous. mass. That is, upon leaving the first pair of impregnating rolls the nap fibers filmed with adhesive stood out by reason of the fact that-the rolls which were driven at the rolls and pressed while under tension to layby means of which the adhesive agent was forced entirely through the base material were covered with adhesive, and by the adhesive-filmed nap fibers before these fibers could detach themselves from the sticky cylinders. to subject the material to pressure'while under tension to lay down the adhesive-filmed fibers of the nap that were raised during the impregnating operation. The final step of pressing the impregnated and dried base material while under tension served to change the appearance at the napped fabric so that it assumed that of undressed leather.

' In some cases the fabric, produced as above It was therefore necessary after drying' reason thereof drew up described, was treated with a surface dressing v of one or more coats and thereafter, if desired, it was embossed with a design by means of a plate or roller prex.

My-invention aims to simplify and improve the method of producing. a leather substitute of this class and the distinguishing feature thereof is that I omit the operation or" pressing while under tension after drying or removal of the solvent and this is made possible by the novel manner in which the villous base material is impregnated with the adhesive agent whereby I avoid raising the fibers of the nap as the im pregnated materiel leaves the impregnating mechanism, supplemented, if desired, by the novel manner in which I may apply one or more finishing coats of adhesive agent to the impregnated villous material.

in the accompanying drawings:

Figurel is a diagrammatic view illustrating an apparatus which may be used in carrying out my new method.

Figure 2 is an elevation of portion oi one end of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In carrying out my invention I employ a web of villous sheet material 1o such as a napped textile fabric, which may be drawn through a constricted passage or slot ll existing between a wiper bar 12 and a rotatable cylindrical support herein shown as a roll 13, said roll being driven in the direction of the arrow, Fig. l and the bar 12 being held rigidly against the web 10.

The web 10 may be supplied to the apparatus of Figure l in the form of a roll its wound upon a core 10b that is rotatably supported in the position shown.

From the roll 10a the web it) is led under a guide roll 14 and thence around the roll 13 back again to roll 10a around which latter it travels its upon web 10 immediately in front of facing machines back to roll 13, through constriction 11, and thence horizontally to and around a second roll 15. From roll 15 the web continues to and around a third roll 16 and thence to a core 1'7 on to which it is wound into a roll 10c.

when a roll 10a. of villous sheet material is placed within the apparatus of Fig. l' and its outer end has been passed around rolls 13, 15 and 16 as described, a bankof somewhat fluid or stifl? viscous adhesive agent 18 is deposited the wiper bar 12'and the apparatus is started so that the web travels through the latter as indicated by the arrows.

The mechanism for driving the rolls 13, 15 and 16 and core 17 may be as usual in doubling or as heretofore provided.

The bottom of the wiper bar 12 is fiat and disposed parallel with, and slightly separated from, a plane that is tangent to the surface of roll 13 with its rear straight edge nearest to the latter and approximately parallel with the axis of said roll 13. This provides an acute V-shaped I compression space 18 in front of wiper'bar l2 and or impregnated latter as it leaves wiper "by passing it under the roll 13 into which the body of adhesive agent 18 is drawn as shown in Fig. 1 owing to the tendency of said agent to adhere to, and move forward with, the web 10.

' In this way the adhesive agent is crowded toward the apex of the V-shaped space to such extent that there is a forcible downward displacement of the adhesive agent into, and completely through, the web 10. At the same time the top villous surface of the web is saturated with adhesive agent also, while the wiping action of the bar 12 lays the adhesive filmed fibers of the nap or a substantial portion thereof down longitudinally on to web 10 with the result that the top surface of the bar 12 is smooth and compact and its fibers are completely embedded within the adhesive agent.

As the saturated web 10 travels from bar 12 to roll 15 it passes above steam pipes 19 the heat from which dries the adhesive agent before the web passes around said roll 15. Thisapplication of heat drys the fabric by removing the solvent from the adhesive agent.

If desired one or more surface coatings of adhesive agent may be applied to the saturated and dried web although for some purposes the undressed fabric may be used as undressed leather is used in the arts. One or more coats of surface dressing may be applied to the fabric doctor knife of a coating machine. Finally, if desired, any required embossed design may be impressed on the coated fabric by a plate or roller press.

In the production of this leather impregnation or saturation of the web and anotherelement same agent may be'used The adhesive agent 18 throughout.

is preferably a rubber composition including naptha as a solvent which latter is removed by the application of heat from the steam pipes 19.

- When the fabric produced by the apparatus of Fig. 1 is to be finished by depositing one or .more coats of-dressing, I preferably employ a rubber composition containing a solvent such as naptha and when this composition is applied the naptha ensures a complete union of the dressing coat with the previously dried adhesive agent of'the 'web by wetting and softening the latter.

substitute m -'some cases one adhesive agent may be used for for the surface dressing, or the.

In applying the first coat of dressing I preferably employ a coating machine having a fixed doctor blade whichis unusually thick so that it will have a'wiping action instead of a scraping action as heretofore, and which is associated with a complementary roll after the fashion of the spreader bar 12 of Fig. 3, but which may be narrower than the latter. After this initial coating additional coats may be applied by using coating machines having ordinary comparatively thin doctor blades.

The purpose-of using a wiping doctor blade of unusual thickness resembling the wiper bar 12 of Fig. 1 when applying the first coat of dressing, is to drive or wipe the solvent and other materials of the dressing into the surface or top portion of the previously dried adhesive agent of the web so as to wet and soften the same and thereby eifect a union of the two layers. o

Finally the completed fabric is dusted with cornstarch, potato starch, talc or the like, to render it non-adhesive until it is vulcanized. This vulcanization may be carried out in any well known manner, as by washing the coated fabric with sulphur chloride.

The wiper bar 12 as herein angle iron 20 which may have four inch flanges and upon the of wood 21 of the same length as the angle iron, and these parts are fastened together and to a normally fixed and rigid metal crosshead 22 which, as shown in Figure 2, is provided at its opposite ends w'th trunnions 23 mounted in boxes 24.

The boxes 24 are slidably mounted in vertical ways provided on the frame of the machine and to each is rotatably connected the lower end of a screw 25 which has threaded engagement with an'interiorly threaded collar-like portion 26 on the frame of the machine.

' The screws 25 are provided at their upper ends with hand wheels and it will be clear that by rotatively adjusting the screws 22 and the parts carried by it may be adjusted vertically and set in the desired position relatively to roll 13. In practice these parts are set so that the rear edge of the wiper bar 12 is in contact with the top side of the web 10.

Mounted upon the frame of the machine are two adjustable abutment screws 26 and 27, the

former being in engagement with the rear side,

of crosshead 22 and the latter in engagement with the front side of'the angle iron 20. It will be clear that by means of these two adjustable abutments the angle of the flat bottom surface of wiper bar 12 relatively to roll 13 may be varied, but that normally the bar 12 is held rigidly in its adjusted position by the screws 25, 26 and 27.

The upstanding flange of the angle iron 20 is formed near each end thereof with a slot '28 to accommodate a T-bolt 29 provided with a thumb nut 30 by means of which a bracket 31 is fixedly clamped against the outer side of said flange with provision for adjustment longitudinally thereof. 1

shown is a metal v the crosshead Each bracket 31 has rigidly fastened toit a ILQBZUQQ terial is stretched and drawn around a rotatablewith handles 33 for use in adjusting said c head angularly.

What I claim is:

1. The herein described process of.making a leather substitute consisting in saturating a villous and porous sheet material with an intially adhesive stiff viscous binding agent by forcibly wiping said agent into and through said sheet material from the outer side thereof while said villous sheet material is stretched and drawn around a rotatable cylindrical support to separate the outer surface-fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the same and so as to lay the fibers of the outer surface of the sheet material down upon the body portion thereof, and thereafter removing the solvent of the binding agent.

2. The process as described in claim 1 wherein the solvent of the binding agent is removed by the application of heat.

3. The process described in claim 1 wherein the solvent of the binding agent is removed by drying the impregnated sheet material.

a. The herein described process of making a leather substitute consisting in completely saturating a villous and porous sheet material with an initially adhesive stifl' viscous binding agent by forcibly wiping said agent into and through said sheet material from the outer side thereof while said villous sheet material is stretched and drawn around a rotatable cylindrical sup- .port to separate the outer surface fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the same and so as to lay the fibers of the outer surface of the latter down upon the body portion thereof; removing the solvent of the bing agent from the saturated sheet material, and lastly coating the impregnated sheet material with an adhesive agent containing a solvent for the binding agent with which the sheet material is first impreg= nated.

'5. The herein described process of making a leather substitute consisting in completely saturating a villous and porous sheet material with an adhesive stiff viscous binding agent consisting of rubber and a solvent therefor by forcibly wiping said agent into and through said sheet material from the outer side thereof while said villous sheet material is stretched and drawn around a rotatable cylindrical support to separate the outer surface fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the same and so to lay the fibers of the outer surface of the latter down upon the body portion thereof; removing the solvent of the hing agent from the sat== urated sheet material; coating the saturated sheet material by a forcible wiping action with an adhesive rubber composition including a sol vent for the binding agent with which the sheet material is first saturated; drying the coated fabric, and lastly vulca' n the rubber of said fabric.

'6. The herein described prom of making a leather substitute consisting in saturating a viiions and porous sheet material with an initially adhesive stifi viscous binding agent by forcibhv wiping said agent directly from a bank of the same into and through saidisheet materal from the outer side thereof while said villous sheet macylindrical support to separate the outer surface fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the-reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the same; while said bank is supported by the outer convexp side of said sheet material, and so as to a lay the fibers of the outer surface of the sheet material down upon the body portion thereof as said wiping action is completed, and thereafter removing the solvent of the binding agent.

7. The herein described process of makinga leather substitute consisting in completely saturating a v'illous and porous sheet material with an initially adhesive stiifj viscous binding agent by forcibly wiping said agent directly from a bank of the same into and through said sheet material from the outer side thereof while said villous sheet material is stretched and drawn around a rotatable cylindrical support to sep-- arate the outer surface fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the same; .while said bank is supported by the outer convex side of said sheet material, and so as to lay the fibers of the outer surface of the latter down upon the body-portion thereof as said wiping action is completed: removing the solvent of the binding agent from the saturated sheet material, and lastly coating the impregnated sheet material with an adhesive agent containing a solvent for the binding agent with which the sheet material is first impregnated.

8. The herein described process of making a leather substitute consisting in completely saturating a villous and porous sheet material with a still viscous adhesive rubber binding agent by forcibly wiping said agent directly from a bank of the same into and through said sheet material irorn the outer side thereof while said villous sheet material is stretched and drawn around a rotatable cylindrical support to separate the outer surface fibers of the nap and open the pores of said sheet material for the reception of said agent as the latter is forcibly wiped into and through the, same while said bank is supported by the outer convex side of said sheet material, and so as to lay the fibers of the latter down upon the body portion thereof as said wiping action is completed; thereafter removing the solvent of the binding agent from the saturated sheet material; thereafter coating the saturated sheet material with an adhesive rubher composition including a solvent for the binding agent with which the sheet material is first saturated by forcibly wiping said adhesive rubher coating composition directly from a bank of the same; drying the coated fabric, and lastly vulcanizing the rubber of said fabric.

a. The herein described process ed We: a

leather substitute consisting in saturating a por- 10. The herein described process of making a urged toward said bar space while said space is occupied by a bank of stiff viscous adhesive agent that is supported and and into said space by the villous napped surface of the portion of said web which is moving around said abutment toward said wiper bar, thereby to forcibly saturate said fabric-,with said adhesive agent.

- -JAMES G. GROWER. 

